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My Story of a Feral Cat.
December 2010
A few weeks ago, a stray semi-feral juvenile cat arrived at my kitchen door. He was very timid and rushes off at the least movement so I can’t confirm his gender. So he/she/it was named Skollikat (SK).
Slowly, a little each day, Skolikat is beginning to accept me and the food I offer. However, he’s very fussy and won’t eat food unless he smells that I have touched it. Today, for the first time he came into the house and then rushed straight out again.
As long as I can remember, cats and I have always had very emotional attachments, and I am wary of what may happen with this one. Why has he come into my space? What can I learn from him? On a practical level, he is not allowed in our wild-life area unless he has a collar and a bell but I don’t know how to catch him to do this
January 2011
I have mentioned my new cat in a previous newsletter but he is still with me and grows more interesting every day.
You will probably know that we live in a small private Nature Reserve and about four months ago there appeared out of the bush in the back garden a ginger and white cat, feral, thin, wild and hungry. I tempted him with some frozen out-of-date fish and over the months he has became tamer and has ventured closer to the house but is more comfortable close to the bush where he could escape – in a flash. 
Feral cats are not welcome here as they kill the birds and ridge-back mice and are very difficult to catch. The plan is to eventually catch Skollikat and have him relocated to a farm that caters for such feral cats. We arranged this but, as you can guess, on the day arranged for his “relocation” he was nowhere to be seen and we’ve had to postpone the plan for now.
One evening, Cedric and I were sitting on the back porch enjoying the cool evening watching Skollikat playing on the lawn. Suddenly he got up on his hind legs and with his front paws in the air started “dancing”. It was unreal, no cat I have ever had has done that: front paws waving in the air and doing intricate hind leg movements like a ballet dancer. This show must have lasted about a minute. And that was it; it’s never been repeated. Was he dancing to entertain us or for his own pleasure? Or is that the same thing?
He is now able to eat at the kitchen door. Only fish mind you; does not like meat or liver. Tinned fish is fine.
I can now touch him and he shows he loves me as he rubs against my legs and the love bites are now gentle; no more sharp teeth or claws. He does love Cedric’s legs now and then but only about 10% to my 90%. Cedric says its just “cupboard love”.
He has explored but does not like the inside of the house and spends his days and nights in the veld under the bushes somewhere.
Skollikat had his first experience of Catnip Mint. He sniffed it, chewed a few leaves off, then rolled in it. I had to take it away otherwise the small seedlings would not survive at all. They are now growing in the sun in places he cannot reach. Later he can enjoy them bit by bit.
It’s a wonderful experience to watch the subtle changes occurring: from wild, fearful, frightened and hungry creature to a beautiful and content animal that is able to give so much joy – just by being himself. 
I keep asking: “What is this creature trying to tell us? Why did he suddenly arrive in our lives?” I don’t get answers but in the meantime we just enjoy this gentle growing experience.”
Cedric says: “If I look at Skollikat lying so Completely Relaxed (CR) and then we have him being so intensely focused and so Sensory Passionate (SP) and we add “I” to that we get an acronym CRISP: a life of alternating periods of passionate action and recharging rest. Feels like a good idea? ”
Both of us have always been more cat-people than dog-people. What sort are you?
Cedric really enjoys the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons, and considers the author Bill Watterson, one of America’s unsung philosophers. Here is a relevant clip:
Calvin and Hobbes are walking along in the snow and Calvin says: “It offends the human ego that nature is indifferent to us.
Nature doesn’t care if people live or die. It refuses to be tamed.
It does whatever it wants and acts like people don’t matter. It won’t confirm our right to be here.
That drives people crazy. We can’t stand being ignored. It’s insulting and... Hey!”
(Calvin notices Hobbes as he yawns and then Hobbes walks off.).
“I think that’s also why some people don’t like cats.”
23 January 2011
Well, he is still with me, thin and mobile and becoming tamer every day. 
But at the least strange noise of movement he flashes away. He still is very affectionate as he “cupboard loves” my legs for his food. He now allows me to pick him up and take off his ticks; no other cat of mine has allowed that. And he also  really enjoys his scratch. This is sure catty heaven!
20 Feb 2011
He continues to be a feral cat and a highly intelligent, manipulative one. He is prepared to supplement his diet with water and cat pilletijies supplied by me, but he turns up his nose – literally - to the various fish mixes I offer him.
He has allowed me to sprinkle colloidal silver on him and rub it in and this has rid him of the ticks. Last week with a blistering South-Easter, I had all the doors closed. While having my afternoon siesta I heard a single sharp mew behind my recliner chair. I got up, led him downstairs and let him out the back door. As he went out he sort-of turned around to me and said: “Thanks ma, I note that you are getting to be well trained. Keep it up.”
At night he climbs over the double-story roof and gets in my bedroom window. I have to restrict access to the rest of the house because of the movement activated burglar alarm. He has now discovered that if he quietly climbs up on my side he can sleep next to me at the foot of the bed. If he gets up on Cedric’s side he gets kicked off. I have always resisted the idea of a cat or dog sharing my bed but this has just happened and I haven’t heart to throw him off and chase him out.
Our property does not encourage cats but if they are here then they have to be neutered and have a collar with a bell attached. The bell we think was supposed to warn the impending meal of its danger. I don’t think it works.
The time has arrived when I think I can put a collar on Skollikat with my name on. I bought a collar and while he was “loving” my legs I explained to him, as I do for everything that happens between us, that it was time for him to have a very handsome collar. I produced the collar and held it up. He took one look - and vanished. Straight into the fynbos. I called and called but he did not come back for two hours and then carried on as if nothing had happened. I think either he or his mother had a bad experience with a collar and this fear is imbedded in his psyche. Any ideas?
6 March 2011
This continues to be, for me, and exciting learning experience. I have had many cats in my life but never one that behaves like this one. He still is feral as he only comes into the bedroom window, having climbed over the double-storey roof, at about 11pm after we are asleep. He nibbles a few pellets and then finds a place on the bed near my feet and stays there until I get up at about 3.30 am to go to the toilet. He then goes out again to do whatever feral cats do in the early dark hours of the day.
We live at the edge of a small nature reserve and families of three or four Cape Francolins come into the back area to skoffel for seeds and leftovers. If he is there, Skollikat usually sees them and then ignores them. Yesterday I hear a disturbance in the kitchen and go downstairs to find feathers all around, Francolins disappearing and two left hanging on to the top shelves over the sink. Skollikat just sitting there as if nothing has happened but it must have been him that chased them.
I think Skollikat reasons like something like this: “When I and you Francolins and the other small animals are in the yard and in the bush we are all equal and all have a right to be there. But when you go into the house – my lady’s house – then you are trespassing on MY territory and I am going to chase you out. Even kill you if necessary.”
What do you think? Who now is the boss of this house?
Sometimes we sit on a bench in the cool East facing yard in the late afternoon. Skollikat is usually around checking on the fish in the pool and watching the birds who seem to be too smart for him to catch. He sometimes jumps up and lies next to me while I read. If he has picked up any tics he is prepared to let me bathe his face with colloidal silver water. (I thought cats did not like water on their face.) This seems to make the tics fall off by themselves and those that don’t he lets me take off with my fingernails.
Now, you must admit, this is one smart feral cat; making the best of both worlds: free bed and breakfast and entertainment on call.
20 March 2011
He is still with me and behaves more and more like a teenager ADHDer: always on the lookout or something interesting to do but when he relaxes he does so, completely.
I picked up a tip in an old, but again, relevant. Odyssey magazine, April/May 2006. In an article by Janet van Eeden on Animal Intuition she recounts going on a course given by animal healer/communicator Jenny Shone. In developing her abilities “Jenny soon realised that everyone has the ability, to a greater or lesser degree, to communicate with animals. But she believes her real gift is the fact that she is aware that she is doing it. Now she can use this gift for the benefit of animals and their owners.
'Animals don't communicate the same way that we do,' Jenny explains. 'They think in pictures. And without us realising it, we send pictures, feelings and thoughts to them.
‘If you see your dog digging up newly planted plants, you usually shout at him to stop digging. What you are doing is sending a picture to the dog of him digging up the flowerbed. Instead of sending the picture of the dog digging, send a picture of the dog lying peacefully next to the happily growing flowerbed.
‘Or if your animal keeps running away, send a picture to the animal of it happily staying at home.’ [End of van Eden quote.]
Well, this was a great new idea for me. I have always spoken out loud to my animals and particularly now to Skollikat. I tell him what I am going to do and tell him I what I want him to do. But now with Jenny’s idea I send him a picture. I call it a “thought-ball”. I will start making notes of what I do with this technique and report back. Why don’t you try it and tell me your experiences?
20 April 2011
I have been trying to get a feel for SK’s likely ancestry and have made a little progress. His body is much longer than a normal cat’s body and this indicates a possible African Wildcat ancestor a few generations ago. Compare the pics of Skollikat lying down and a poor picture of an African Wild cat. 
He does not have the ears of a wild cat but certainly the long body and the more developed and muscular back legs. His (suspected) father also has pronounced back hindquarters.
His colouring is Red and white in what I am learning in the official cat language and the closest I can get to the other original partner is the manx cat ancestor. And although there is no tail missing  his colouring is consistent with a manx cat breed. His behaviour is also like a manx cat, very loveable, smart, and is prepared to learn from humans.
If any of you can help me with this identification please contact me.
Skollikat no longer sleeps on the bed next to me but on a towel we have placed on the chest of drawers next to the window he comes in and out of. We have rolled the end of the towel a bit and he uses this as a pillow. About 4.30 am he gets up, stretches, has a nibble of the pellets on the floor, jumps back up on the chest, grooms himself for about ten minutes and the vanishes into his wild kingdom. He is a little like us with our early morning ablutions.
I only see him later in the day. What a life !
22 May 2011
He continues to bring me much joy watching how he alternates from an emerging house cat to continuing his feral nature and behaviour such as almost exclusive “caught on-the-hoof” food.
When he sleeps he either lies stretched out or curled up like a housecat.
As a special treat for the cold nights Cedric has made him up a bed from a cardboard box and foam plastic. In case you are interested we give you the basic concepts.
The box is positioned so that he can sit/lie in it and also see out into his kingdom outside. 
Box size small enough so that he can lie comfy and at the same time have some of the box walls against him for warmth.
We cut a slot in the box and the lower foam plastic to allow a tray to be slid in and out. In this we place a small hot water bottle at bed time on cold nights.
You must admit this is one spoilt feral cat!
17 July 2011
He continues to develop our friendship while keeping his options open to find his own food.
.jpg) I have a potted Catnip plant and as a treat I give him two leaves, which he seems to really enjoy. Here he is sitting up on his haunches to get it. I suspect that as a kitten he was fostered by a family of mongoose who live nearby. When he sits up on his haunches it reminds me of the way a mongoose sits up. Does anyone else have a cat that does this?
14 August 2011
SK is still very independent but also affectionate when it suits him; just like any normal cat. We had been warned that we should have him neutered in accordance with the rules of our little Nature Reserve but we have been reluctant to do this. Then we heard that unknown cats had been spraying a neighbour’s porch and we then thought it is now time before he himself becomes an endangered species.
We arranged a date with the Vet Clinic 30 km away and got some pills to make Skollikat (SK) sleepy for the car journey in. He happily took his pill from me as he does the other Homoeopathic pills I give him. We waited an hour or so for him to get groggy and then tried to put him in the cardboard box we had prepared for him. No ways. He would get in but clawed his way out if we tried to close the lids. Then my Guardian Angel said: “Try the yellow plastic milk tray.” I told Cedric this not knowing what we would do with it. 
He got it and placed it over SK in the box. As he could still see me he was happy enough and off we set to the clinic.
On the journey he mewed every now and then and as I sat on the back seat with him and talked to him we managed OK. Every now and then he put his little paw through the top grid and I held it.
At the clinic, they were very helpful and caring and here you see him in the cage/waiting area and he looks like your normal drug addict - zonked out.
As you can imagine we were very reluctant to leave him but we knew he was in good hands. We called later to hear that the op (we are very reluctant to call it castration) was successful and he was sleeping peacefully. We arranged for him to stay overnight at the clinic and collect him the following morning.
When we arrived he looked really stressed out and when I went to pick him out of the cage to put him in the box the assistant said: ‘You can’t do that. He’ll bite and scratch you.’ I knew he wouldn’t and promptly picked him up and placed him carefully in the box. It then came out that the previous night he had become very agitated and vicious, mewing loudly, and this triggered off the other pets which also started mewing and barking.
They gave him and injection and he was quiet for the rest of the night. Now I know that SK is very sound-sensitive. With all that noise and being drugged he must have thought he was in Hades and decided to quietly quit this life. (This is usually called post-traumatic shock.)
On the car trip home back home, me sitting on the back seat with SK, he was peaceful enough but as soon as we were on the way he started mewing in the same way he did coming in – only more so. We guess that many cats do this but the mew was quite loud and consistent. Cedric timed them: one mew every two seconds. After about 20kms of the 30km trip, with me sitting next to SK, talking and soothing him, I had my hand over the yellow plastic “cage”.
Suddenly Skollikat open-clawed my finger. I screamed real loud and then with his help extricated my finger from the claw. And then we realised that he had stopped mewing and did not start again the rest of the trip. Cedric reckons it is the “psychotronic power” of my shriek that fried his brain for a while! (PS. There is no sign of any inflammation on my finger.)
Once home Skollikat roamed around visiting all his usual places inside and out and drank plenty of water from the fish pond. He also ate a few pellets and was most affectionate. He seems to have lost weight and we wondered if he was going to be fit enough to catch his food in the next few days.
We need not have worried. About five pm I noticed that he had brought in what looked like a dead mole, something we had not noticed him killing before. 
He settled down in the sitting room and enjoyed his supper. Here you can see him eating and later, after he had eaten everything except two bits, (? What are they) he settled down for an after-dinner nap. Note the size of his tummy.
In the notes it says that castrated cats are less likely to wander, but in this case SK, who has always eaten his food outside, has now taken to bringing it to eat it in his inside restaurant ! This he has continued to do since then.
Two nights ago I heard cat calls a few doors away and reckoned that the female cat and her attendants were around. SK who was sleeping in the room jumped up, sprang out of the window and vanished over the roof to get to ground level.
Then about 20 minutes later he came in again as he usually does. He stopped on the windowsill and just looked at me. 
It was a look of: ‘How could you do that to me? Just look at me now, not being able to do what a proper feral cat should do. And don’t tell me it was for my benefit.’ And with that look, which I still remember with pain, he turned his back on me and went to his bed.
We still think, in the overall, it was the right decision. But it hurts me, deep inside, to realise that I have played an agent God in his innocent life. I just hope he forgives me.
11 December 2011
Among the cats around the property is one very big one with colouring similar to SK and we think it is his father, similar strong developed hind quarters. We also think father dominates SK so we have called him Dompa (dominating father). SK is terrified of Dompa streaking into the house when he is nearby. Here you can see SK looking at Dompa lying in the driveway next door. 
Recently Skollikat has been jumping up on to our desk and he even now has a “bed” next to Cedric’s desk where he sometimes sleeps. He never jumps up on to the kitchen counter or on the dining table. How does he know?
We have two very comfortable recliners next to each other with lights from behind where we happily sit and read. Suddenly one night SK jumps up between the chairs and proceeds to make himself comfortable on my lap. Really stretches out and goes to sleep. I carry on reading and all is well.
When we have to get up to go to bed he was quite happy for Cedric to pick him up and take him to his own bed in the bedroom.
But one night recently, he jumped up and just flopped right up next to my face. It was as if he was saying: “Enough is enough. I come first in your life not your book. So give me some attention.” I did and he then, quite content, he slid down and went to sleep.
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